13 December 2013

Home Schooling Children

Homeschooled: How American Homeschoolers Measure Up


Out of all of you, who home schools their children, and what are your convictions, opinions and reasons for home schooling your children?

I'm interested.

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09 December 2013

Gluten Free Brownies

These brownies are adapted from one of the best brownie recipes in the world. That is, if you like a fudgy brownie, unadorned with any fillers. These have a crackly top, with a discernible texture as your teeth bite down. And beneath them? Pure, smooth chocolateness.


SERVINGS
12 (if people have the restraint to not eat more than one brownie)

INGREDIENTS
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (or as dark as you can stand it)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour

PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Chop the chocolate into small slivers. Slice the butter into one-inch pieces. Combine the two flours together.

2. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, and then turn it down to a simmer. Place a large metal bowl over the top of the saucepan. Put the chocolate and butter into the metal bowl and stir, occasionally, as they both begin to melt. As they come to a full melt, stir and stir, vigorously, until you have a cohesive mixture.

3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the sugar and eggs, whisking vigorously until they are creamed together, with a silky consistency. Add the vanilla extract and salt and stir well. Add in the gluten-free flours and stir. Finally, pour in the melted chocolate-butter mixture and stir, carefully, with a rubber spatula, until the mixture has become smooth.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Smooth the top with the spatula. Slide the baking pan into the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes.

As the brownies are baking, fill the sink with ice cubes and 1 inch of water. When the brownies are finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and place it immediately into the ice-water bath. (Don't let any water splash up onto the brownies!) Let the brownies stay there until they have cooled completely.

These brownies taste best the next day, after an entire night of refrigeration. That makes the top crunchy, the insides decadently chewy. However, I'm sure no one would suffer if you ate the brownies immediately, either. Except, perhaps, for those not eating them. YUM!

Recipe source

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06 December 2013

Corkscrew Reindeers

I was reading the Our Home magazine today, and I saw these adorable little Christmas decor reindeers made from corkscrews!!! Now, anyone who knows me will know that I love things that have been made from recycled or found items, and these I would TOTALLY make!



Now, all I need to do is FIND some corkscrews!! Twigs and twine would be easy enough to source out.

What about you? Do you make any Christmas decorations?

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05 December 2013

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

As you may or may not be aware, we have taken strides to remove gluten from our diets to see if this will affect Alexander and Isabel’s behaviour and/or learning focus.

It’s been a bit of a transition for us, since Alexander is such a picky eater and he LOOOVES carbs. But we’ve found a few substitutes that he accepts.

While browsing around for some gluten-free recipes, I found this little gem: Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. My kids love cookies, so I think I will try the recipe this weekend.

gluten free chocolate chip cookie

Ingredients & Directions:

Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl:
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp zanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

In a separate bowl, beat to cream:
- 3/4 cup organic coconut oil
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp bourbon vanilla
- 2 eggs, beaten

Add the whisked dry ingredients to the creamed brown sugar and beat to combine.

Add in 3 to 3 1/2 cups of gluten-free rolled oats (I'll be using quinoa flakes). Start with 3 cups, and add more if desired.

Add in 1 cup dark chocolate chips. Stir by hand to combine.

So I will try the recipe this weekend, and I will update you all on Facebook to let you know how it all went.

Recipe source

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02 December 2013

How to Create a Blog Button with a Grab Code Text Box

I had searched for a solid hour, trying to find the best way to put in a button on my blog. I had accidentally changed the html for the one I had and couldn't figure out how to fix it, so I was stuck trying to figure it out all over again.
 
I had searched a few that gave me an almost-right code, but the text wouldn't show up in the text box for whatever reason, so I had to continue searching. And then, I found the EASIEST way to do it. It's a template that generates the code for you!
 
 

Here is what you need to enter into the template:
 
1. Your Title. (name of your blog, website, etc)
2. The link to where you want the picture to click through to (your blog, website, etc)
3. The link of your image (hosted on flickr or photobucket)
 
And that's basically what you need! You have the option of choosing the size of the text box and font colour, etc, but it's more or less done for you!
Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy!!
 
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